Nevada senators tour N.Y. site

Benjamin Grove

Thursday, Sept. 20, 2001 | 11:16 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- Nevada's senators visited "ground zero" in New York City today where hard-hat work crews and emergency workers are still sifting through the smoldering rubble of the toppled World Trade Center.

In an interview Wednesday, Reid, the Senate's No. 2 Democrat, said Congress will help pay to rebuild lower Manhattan so that New York City is "better than ever."

"I don't have the words to describe what I just saw," Reid said in a cell phone interview. "Windows that had been melted out, not blown out, melted out -- you don't see that on TV."

Reid spoke with a worker who described the grisly task of finding body parts. Reid said the senators were in a state of shock, not talking much.

Sen John Ensign, R-Nev., said he saw several laborers weld a U.S. flag to a beam.

"It was really a poignant moment," Ensign said. He spoke to three police officers who had "run for their lives" as the towers collapsed.

"It really brings it home much more than on TV. It was important for us to see. It reaffirmed our commitment not only to rebuild New York City but our commitment to go after the evil people who did this," Ensign said.

Reid and Ensign today joined what may be the largest group of senators ever to visit a state together at one time.

About 40 senators early this morning took a high-speed Acela train from Washington to New York -- citing convenience, not fear-of-flying, aides said. They took a ferry and bus to get to the Trade Center site, where they donned dust masks, said Reid spokesman Nathan Naylor, who was traveling with Reid.

Congress already has approved $40 billion for victims' families, rebuilding and retaliation efforts and are now considering airline bailouts.

Democratic New York Sens. Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, along with New York Gov. George Pataki and Mayor Rudy Giuliani, led the tour. The lawmakers gave Giuliani a rousing ovation when he greeted them, Naylor said.

"It's important that they actually see it because the pictures don't convey the real sense of horror you get close up at the site," Pataki told CNN today.

In interviews Wednesday, Reid also said:

* Nevada troops at Nellis Air Force Base and the Navy's Top Gun school at Fallon in Northern Nevada are being called to action, but it's not clear how many will be directly involved in pending conflicts overseas.

* Reid generally favors loosening investigation restrictions on the FBI and other law enforcement. Reid and other senators met with Attorney General John Ashcroft Wednesday. Congress is considering loosening restrictions on FBI and CIA wiretapping, detaining foreigners and tracking money-laundering, grappling with how that could affect civil liberties.

* Russia, once a Cold War enemy, is steadfastly supportive of America's looming battles against terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov and Russian Ambassador Yuri Ushakov told Reid in a meeting Wednesday.

* Afghanistan is not the only focus of a U.S. war on terrorism. "Don't think that's the only country we're looking at."

In an online chat with the Washington Post Wednesday, Reid said:

* The White House has closely consulted with Congress, despite fears of one questioner who suspected the executive branch may be moving quickly without consulting the elected Congress.

* The CIA "will need more money, and it should be given to them."

Sun wire services contributed to this report.